Stay
by sugarplumdreams
Summary: One-shot. CS fluffy fluff. Post-Neverland, second kiss, and a very exhausted Emma Swan in need of a little TLC by one Killian Jones.


A/N: Post-Neverland. Fluffy CS. IDK, it just happened :)

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**Stay**

Emma stared at the papers in front of her blankly. She'd been staring at them for the last twenty minutes, unmoving, with her eyes unfocused and glazed over. It took another five minutes before she finally gave up – she wasn't getting anymore work done. A glance at the clock told her that it was only 8:00 PM. It made her frown at how much time she still had left then sigh as she scrubbed her hands over her face. She'd need some more coffee if she had any chance at staying awake.

The tap on the door of her office abruptly drew her thoughts away and had her gaze flickering up. She froze in her seat, her stomach clenching at the pair of familiar blue eyes watching her intently.

"Hook," she said after a moment, her voice breathier than she would like.

The corners of his mouth tipped up, softening his face. _Handsome bastard._ She could admit that to herself in the privacy of her tired mind.

"May I come in?" he asked politely.

"Ah…" She swallowed thickly and somewhere in her mind, a giant, blinking _WARNING!_ sign plopped on her head. They hadn't been alone since they'd gotten back from Neverland; she had made sure of it.

Emma knew she should have said no, she should have told him she had a ton of work to do or that she was just about to leave or any number of excuses, instead she hesitated. His brow quirked at her, the smile on his face just a little smug as his eyes danced knowingly. It made her grit her teeth.

"Sure," she heard herself say on a whim, facepalming in her mind as she did so.

He sauntered in, an air about his gait that made her feel like she was being…stalked. Their eyes held steadily and she felt the space between them suddenly _charged_. It made the breath back up into her lungs, made her rise from her seat agitatedly. She couldn't sit still so she grabbed the files off her desk and walked towards one of the large cabinets to put them away – 'R' files certainly did not belong with 'A' files so she'd have to fix them later, but nobody needed to know that. She heard him chuckle behind her and it made her roll her eyes as she slammed the drawer shut.

"What?" she snapped irritably, turning to face him.

He shook his head, smiling instead of replying. He had a great smile, even when he was being arrogant – maybe especially when he was being arrogant. _Stop that._

"What do you want?" she wondered, crossing her arms over her chest.

He watched her for a moment with determined, confident eyes. _You._ The word was unspoken but it hung heavily in the air and reflected clearly on his face. She realized what was coming half a second before he moved, swooping in and crushing her against him as he fused his mouth to hers and swallowed her gasp of surprise.

The protest she'd intended faded away, all thoughts slipping from her mind as everything inside of her lit up all at once the second their lips touched. There was no room for anything else except him – only him… perhaps _always_ him.

She burned – a searing heat that filled her up until she swore she wouldn't be able to handle anything more. Yet her mouth opened beneath his – craving, wanting – and his tongue stroked against hers in response, making stars explode behind her eyes. She groaned, her trapped arms between them leaving her hands with nothing to do but to hang on to him. Her fingers gripped the lapels of his coat, tightening when he angled his head to deepen the kiss. _Oh God._

Sparks shot down her spine, along her skin, and she was so full of _him_ that her head was dizzy from it, and yet still she wanted _more_. So she took, as he did, meeting him head-on and kissing him back just as hungrily. Somehow she managed to free her arms and she took the opportunity to wrap them around his neck, her hands tangling in his thick, unruly hair – she loved his hair – and tugging gently.

This time he groaned and she reveled in the sound. He pulled her closer so that their bodies were pressed so tightly together that there was not a centimeter of space between them and still it didn't seem to be _enough_. Her heart slammed into her throat at the skim of his hand down her back; on its way up, it drew her shirt with it and her skin ignited into flames where his fingertips grazed. He hadn't touched her in Neverland, save for tangling his fingers in her hair, but now she knew…and now she craved _more_.

She broke the kiss on a strangled breath, her brain suddenly functioning at that one terrifying thought. "Wait," she panted, though she didn't push him away.

He stilled, his labored breathing matching hers as he touched their foreheads together.

"_Shit_," he breathed quietly.

Emma smiled at that, unable to stop it, and then closed her eyes as she tried to concentrate on getting air into her lungs. They stood in silence for a few moments, just holding each other, and Emma's heart squeezed.

"What are you doing, Hook?" she asked softly.

"Darling, if you have to ask, perhaps you should let me do it again just to make it clear," he teased, his voice a little hoarse.

She sighed and pulled back to look at him, her hands dropping to his shoulders. "You know that's not what I meant."

He leaned forward, bumping his nose with hers and brushing his mouth lightly over her lips once more before he backed off and gave them a little more space. She missed his warmth almost immediately.

"Don't take this the wrong way, love, but…you look exhausted."

"You see too much," she sighed, her tiny smile very close to affectionate.

He didn't move towards her, but he reached out to gently run his fingertips over the circles under her eyes. "Only where you're concerned."

She didn't reply, just swayed into his touch and watched his brows pucker as he frowned. She tried to ignore the fact that her heart skipped a beat.

"You've not been sleeping," he commented.

Emma shook her head in agreement, there was no use denying it, he'd see through any lie she gave him anyway. She watched him think about that for a second, his eyes holding hers, and then he surprised her by stepping forward and scooping her into his arms. She squeaked, her own arms tangling around his neck as her eyes widened.

"_What are you doing?_"

"You're for bed," he replied simply, as if that answered all of her questions.

"You're being ridiculous, put me down this minute!"

"Don't worry, I intend to," he said, stepping into one of the jail cells and sitting them down on the cot.

_Stupid pirate._ The second he was seated, she tried to scramble off his lap, but he held her firmly in place. "Hook, I swear to God-"

"Lass," he hissed near her ear. "If you don't cease your movements you're going to have another issue _come up_."

She froze at that, heat flushing her cheeks as she realized she had been squirming in his lap. _Oh God._ "What the hell are you about, pirate?" she bit out.

Hook pulled back to give her a bored look. "I told you, you're for bed."

Emma blinked several times, trying to wrap her head around his intentions.

"I promised you fun, did I not? Well, I'm certainly not going to give it to you until you've properly rested."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't realize you had such a soft side," she answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He grinned at her, and she knew he remembered their swordfight at the lake.

"I don't, I just like a fair fight," he said with a wink, giving her back the same words.

She couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling up as she hit his shoulder. "You're dumb."

This time it was he who rolled his eyes. "You've been having nightmares, no? About Neverland."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "How did you-"

"I used to have them too," he sighed, suddenly serious. "After I left the first time. It's a dark place…sometimes that darkness stays with you."

"I-" She didn't know what to say, her mood changing at the truth of his words, though oddly enough, she felt comforted that she wasn't alone in the matter and that there was someone else who understood.

"Sometimes it helps to have someone with you." His voice went soft, his gaze flickering away from her.

She realized he was speaking from experience. _Milah._ Milah had been with him to keep the nightmares away – her heart went out to him – and now he was offering to keep hers away – her heart softened to him. _Stupid pirate._

"Look, Emma-"

She shook her head, cutting him off as she rested her cheek against his shoulder and let go just a little bit. "I've been avoiding you," she confessed.

"I know," he told her, his voice surprisingly neutral.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright." His arms tightened around her, forgivingly.

"It's not; you've been very good to me."

"It's no less than you deserve, darling."

He sighed again and it made her close her eyes as she nuzzled her face into his neck. She hated to admit it, but she felt safe here — in his arms — and she felt cared about.

"You know how I feel about you, Emma."

A ball of emotion lodged itself into her throat and she pressed a kissed to the underside of his jaw, lingered there for a moment longer than necessary. Surely there was no harm in an hour or two of a nightmare-less sleep…

"You'll stay with me?" she asked after a few heartbeats.

His body stiffened for an instant and she didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she felt his lips brush across her forehead. "For as long as you want me to."

"Okay," she replied, her body slowly relaxing against his, knowing he meant so much more than just this one moment and finding that in the deepest part of her guarded heart, the idea didn't sound so bad.

_Fin_


End file.
